Brick-truck



2 Sheets-Sheet 1. J. W. WEEKS. BRICK TRUCK.

(No Model.)

Patented Apr. 16, 1889.

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J. W. WEEKS.

BRIOK TRUGK.

No. 401,396. PatentedApr. 16, 1889.

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UNITE STATES PATENT JOHN WVILLIAM lVEEKES, OF FORT l/VORTH, TEXAS.

BRICK-TRUCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 401,396, dated April 16, 1889.

Application filed December 31, 1888. Serial No. 295,035. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be itknown that I, JOHN WILLIAM WEEKEs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fort lVori-h, in the county of Tarrant and State of Texas, have invented new and useful Improvements in Trucks for Carrying Bricks, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in trucks for carrying bricks; and it consists in certain novel features hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is aperspective view showing the truck arranged to transport pallet containing the bricks. Fig. 2 is a side view with the near wheel removed, showing the device in position to take up the pallet. Fig. 3 is a plan view, and Fig. l is a detail perspective view, of the springlatch.

Referring to the drawings byletter, A designates a crank-axle of ordinary form, having the carrying-wheels B mounted on its ends or spindles, as shown. The push-barsor handles G C are secured to and extend from the axle at the junction of the spindles and side bars of the axle, and are connected Man intermediate point of their lengths by the crossbar D, as shown.

E designates a U-shaped frame, which has the ends of its arms secured to the push-bars or handles and has its shoulder below the handles. This frame is adapted to support one end of the pallet when the truck is in use, as will be hereinafter more fully described.

F designates a U-shaped frame or lever, which is fulcrumed upon the side bars of the axle, and has depending from its rear free ends the supporting-arms G G, which are provided at their lower ends with hooks H H, as clearly shown. The handle or cross-bar of this lever F is engaged by a sprin -latch, I, mounted on the cross-bar D, so as to be held normally downward to elevate the support ing-arms G G. This spring-latch 1 consists of a single spring-wire having its central portion bent to form the horizontal Ushaped locking portion or shoulder J, then extending vertically upward, forming the arms K K, and twisted at the upper ends of said arms to form the spring-coils L L. From. the said coils L L the wire extends downward, forming the vertical branches H M, the lower ends of which are secured to the cross-bar D.

N N designate vibrating levers, which are fulcrumed upon the side bars or arms of the Ushaped frame E, and have their rear ends engaging the arms G G near the lower ends of the same. The front ends of these levers are connected with a crank-disk, O,by means of the pitmen P P. The said crank-disk is f ulcrumed upon a bracket, Q, depending from the cross-bar D at about the center of the same, and is provided with an operating-ham dle, R, by means of which it may be turned into a vertical or horizontal position to operate the levers and the supportingarms G G, as will be readily understood.

In practice the bricks are loaded on the pallet, and the truck is then run over the pallet and the handles lowered, so that the shoulder of the U-shaped frame E will pass under one end of the pallet, as shown in Fig. 2. The latch I is then drawn out, so that the lever or frame F can be raised at its front end, so as to lower the supporting-arms G G, after which the crank-disk. is operated, so as to throw the front ends of the levers N N outward, thereby causing their inner ends to travel inward, carrying the supporting-arms G G toward the pallet, so that the hooks If H will engage under the rear end of the pallet at the opposite sides of the same. The frame or lever F is then restored to its normal position, thereby raising the rear end of the pallet, after which the handles or push-bars are raised, causing the U-shaped frame E to raise the front end of the pallet and retain it in a horizontal position. The truck is then wheeled to the kiln and manipulated so as to lower the pallet, as will be readily understood.

The operation of releasing the pallet, it will be readily understood, is the reverse of that described for taking up the pallet-that is to say, the front end of the truck is lowered, thereby lowering the front end of the pallet. The frame or lever F is then operated to lower the rear end of the pallet, after which the crank-disk is turned to a horizontal position, disengaging the hooks H II from the pallet, and the truck is then rolled from over the pallet.

From the foregoiiiig description it will be seen that l have provided a very simple truck,

by means of which a largenumber of bricks can be easily and rapidly handled at one time without danger of breaking. In the drawings I have shown the device as constructed almost entirely of pipes, and I prefer to so construct the machine, as by so doing the several parts can be quickly detached and put together, the advantage of which for storage and transportation is obvious.

The crank-disk is provided with crank-pins at diametrically-opposite points, and the inner ends of the pitmen are connected to these crank-pins, so that when the said crank-pins are in a horizontal plane the horizontally-vibrating levers will be at one limit of their stroke, and when the said crank-pins are in a vertical plane they will be at the other limit of their stroke. It will thus be seen that it is only necessary to give the crank-disk a quarter-turn in order to effectually operate the said levers and cause the hooks H H to engage under the pallet.

The construction of the spring-latch is such that its horizontal U -shaped portion or shoulder is normally projected over the cross-bar or handle of the lever or frame F,-so as to prevent play of the said lever, while the end of the said U shaped portion forms a handle by which it can be drawn from over the said lever. When the lever is raised, the arms K K present an inclined surface, down which the handle or cross-bar of the lever will ride, so as to force the locking portion of the latch forward until the handle has cleared the said arms, when the coils L L will force them rearward and bring the U-shaped shoulder over the handle of the lever and lock the same.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s

1. A truck for carrying bricks provided with a depending frame to support one end of the pallet and supporting-arms to engage the other end of the pallet, and mechanism for operating said arms, as set forth.

2. A truck comprising the crank-axle and the handles extended therefrom, the supporting-frame depending from the handles, the levers fulcrumed on the axle, and the supporting-arms carried by said levers, as set forth.

3. The combination, with the axle, the handles extending therefrom, and the cross-bar connecting the handles, of the supportingframe depending from the handles, the levers fulcrumed on the axle, the supporting-arms carried by said levers, and the spring-latch mounted on the cross-bar between the handles and engaging said lever, as set forth.

4. In a truck, the combination, with the main frame, of the U shaped frame depending therefrom, the supporting-arms supported by the main frame, the horizontal vibrating levers mounted on the arms of the U-shaped frame and having their rear ends connected to the supporting-arms, and mechanism for operating said levers, as set forth.

5. The combination, with the main frame, the arms G G, and the levers having their rear ends connected to said arms, of the crank-disk and the pitmen extending between the front ends of the levers and diametrically opposite points of the crank-disk, as set forth.

6. The combination, with the lever F and the cross-bar G, of the spring-latch mounted on the cross-bar and engaging the lever, the said spring-latch consisting of a single springwire bent to form the U-shaped locking portion J, the arms K K, extending upward from said locking portion,vthe coils L L at the upper ends of said arms, and the branches M M, depending from the coils and secured to the cross-bar, as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afiixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

J UHN WILLIAM WEEKES.

Witnesses:

W. (J. WEEKES, ALF. PEARSON. 

